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Tianshai
A sprawling metropolis that spans much of the eastern coast of Cathy and creeps out into the surrounding hills and fertile plains. Almost as old as Cathyn history itself, Tianshai has assimilated numerous towns and hamlets into its grand mass over the centuries, and then built on top of them, older structures serving as support systems for the new, becoming squats for the poor, underground living for dwarves and commoners, crypts such as the Tianshai Necropolis, and the city's sewers. History Legend states, after the First Emperor, the warrior Tian Shu, defeated the warlords and the Dragon King and unified Cathy under his rule, he built his palace on what he named Tianshai Hill. Originally a simple stronghold for him and his retainers, villages sprung forth around it. When Shu's grandson, Tian Ren, took the throne, he walled off the immediate area. The royal coffers had filled up quite a bit, and he spared no expense remodeling the walled houses, creating the Forbidden City that still stands today. He was also responsible for creating the Royal Scribes and Celestial Bureacracy, creating traditions of calligraphy and mathematics that have lasted over a thousand years. The opulance brought thousands to live nearby, creating the cascade effect that has lead to Tianshai's neverending expansion. The Mad Emperor Lin Ying-Ka Tianshai was in turmoil. The last Emperor of the Tian dynasty, Tian Lem, had no sons, and was deathly ill. The noble houses were at each other's throats. They watched each other carefully, and anyone who was seen to be gathering too much power would likely soon have his head seperated from his neck. But no one paid the young Lin Ying-Ka much mind. He was a skilled alchemist, but as far as most understood it, the trade entailed creating flash powder and conjuring homunculi. No one knew he was creating an army. No sooner had the news hit about the Emperor's death, had a rhythmic thudding begin to sound through the streets of the Forbidden City. A hundred terracotta golems poured out from the kiln works Ying-Ka had constructed in the undercity. No other nobleman had dared raise an army of this size, as it would have been impossible to do so without showing his hand. He was quickly sworn in as Emperor, and he promptly went to work. Bandit problems were becoming increasingly difficult for the peasantry. No matter how often you drove them away from the farming villages in the countryside, they would simply lick their wounds and return in greater numbers, overwhelming the local war chiefs. In addition, the undercity of Tianshai was beginning to overflow, due to Emperer Lem's policy of exiling prisoners and debtors to its depths. Emperor Ying-Ka had a plan to solve both problems. The original Terracotta Army was strong, but people had began to wise up. Bludgeoning implements could crumble them, as well as fiery magicks. Ying-Ka came up with a new design, one that could quickly regenerate a damaged carapace. But it would require the souls of sentient creatures to power a magic like that. Golems served as ideal vessels due to their husk-like nature. The prisons were emptied. The new constructs were a wonder to behold. They spat jade fire and wielded halberds of stone. Most of the bandit lords were driven far west, or slaughtered outright. The soul-powered golems also proved to be a tireless, efficient labor force, and Ying-Ka's second ambition, the Cathy Wall, ensured the bandits would not return for centuries. Eventually, it would turn out Ying-Ka was as impotent as the emperor before, and the Lin Dynasty started and ended with him. His successor, Emperor Jin-Ro, a less inventive man content to win the throne via old fashion guile, declared Lin Ying-Ka's birthday to be a national holiday. Westerners are often confused as to why a man dubbed "Mad", who committed mass murder, would be celebrated. The explanation stands: he was a creative man, who solved many problems in his lifetime. "Mad", in Tiandarin, is not always a pejorative meaning "insane", but also translates the concept of a notably clever individual, or a polymath. Overlord Kru-Li, Conquerer of Tianshai The monk, Chin Kru-Li, began adulthood as a gentle, intelligent soul. He studied martial arts as dilligently as his spiritual brothers, but his true passion was studying military history. He had a keen mind for patterns, and through his endeavours, deducted patterns and a unified theory for effective warfare. He would often challenge the other monks to games of Grid and Capture the Gourd, but had few takers, as he would always win. With little else he could learn inside the confines of the monastary, he struck out on pilgrimage beyond the safety of the Cathy Wall. He journeyed to the southwest, blazing trails when he could not find caravans who knew the roads. He first travelled the remote region of Injiha, a land of swelteringly hot plains, where gods both fair and malevolent were worshipped equally and openly. He befriended the Rajah Karataka, who's philosophies broadened his already well educated perspective. In his menagerie, he saw the most wonderful creature he had ever beheld: an elephant. Karataka gladly gave him several as a gift, as they were troublesome to feed. In Injiha, he also met a fellow traveller, a pixie from Qaldim named Shalas al-Solo. They spent many years together, and the routes they travelled served to eventually bring a great many exotic goods westward. As he ventured north, towards imposing mountainscapes, he created many roads and bridges still in use today. The elephants turned so much thick, impassible jungle into food and timber, and the timber became a means of moving a very heavy animal through difficult terrain. Eventually, he found himself in Mangralia, a region neighboring Cathy, and discovered the fate of the bandits driven out by Emperor Lin Ying-Ka. Here, in the ragged valleys, the bandits had thrived, integrating with the egalitarian halfling tribes who had always inhabited the land. The yakherds, goatherds, weavers, tanners, and hunter-gatherers always had use for an extra hand willing to work for a meal. Kru-Li saw in them great strength and potential. Chin Kru-Li didn't take long to assimilate. He was a dutiful laborer, and easily won respect through fair duels. Soon he had three wives, and a grand collection of fine weapons won in bets. One day, he decided to test out a politicla system that hadn't seen much use in civil society. He declared himself Overlord of Mangralia; if no challengers could beat him, he would become de facto ruler of the land. Although there were those that simply off, he was challenged many times, and never beaten, and this display won him the fealty of many village chiefs and elders. He also forged alliances with the nearby wild elves and Thri-kreen. The Thri-kreen were seclusive and did not wish a formal friendship, but were perfectly happy with the idea of conscription, and traded soldiers for equally valuable goods. He also solved a problem the colony had, with a species of giant beetle living underground that spat superheated globs of corrosive bile as a defense mechanism, by taming them and turning them into war beasts alongside his growing herd of elephants. Kru-Li made his military genius history, when he took his multi-racial underdog force back with him to Cathy. The siege beetles made short work of the once invulnerable Cathy Wall, and each elephant was like a portable castle, housing archers, spearman, and of course trampling all who got too close. His conquest took him to the city itself, and he declared himself Emperor, with his army annexing most of the surrounding provinces. Despite the initial death and destruction, Tianshai has prospered because of him, the gap in the wall now a busy trade route. To this day, most royals and nobles can trace their lineage to Kru-Li. The man certainly did not stop at three wives after such a feat. Administration The Emperor's will is law, but most of the actual footwork is and has been done by the Celestial Bureaucracy. They are responsible for all civic works and public defense, and the clattering of their abaci goes on all day and all night. The Emperor's primary responsibility is holding court, and Ministers who answer to the Bureacracy control the dockets, ensuring no rabble "wastes the time of the Emperor". Also answering to the Bureaucracy are the Divine Judges. The Judges are an order devised by Emperor Kru-Li, shortly after he took the throne. He had many monastaries burned to the ground, as they were a powerful martial force that did not answer to the status quo, and, having been a monk himself, knew their weaknesses. Those that were too skilled and useful to persecute, however, were offered the opportunity to become Judges. The order granted them magical weapons and armor that make them very mobile and hard to kill. A Divine Judge has the order to sentence a man without trial, and carry the sentence out himself. Judges handle few matters personally, leaving them to the military, royal guard, or assassin leagues. Notable Locations The Towering Teahouse One of the oldest inns in the Tianshai, the foundation of the Teahouse is deep in the Undercity, but the structure extends so high that, in its finest rooms, diners have a better view of the Forbidden City than that of its inhabitants. The base is wide, and houses hundreds of commoners nightly, with auxillary facilities connected by a network of pipes brewing large vats of the cheapest teas. With a reservation, or social status, higher levels in the Teahouse are available. It is a powerful man indeed that ever gets seated in the topmost floors, and an adventurer invited upwards is in for intrigue. The Teahouse is famous for having never served a single kettle of poisoned tea. This is because they are cooperative with assassins, and although no one has ever died from the tea, more than a few have boarded the elevator, only to see a shadow unfold itself from the wall and draw its sword. The Carapace When the last of Conqueror Kru-Li's siege beetles died, the only one to survive the war, he had a wizard devise a new ritual to commemerate it. The shell of the beetle was hollowed out, and petrified in a rock-hard material via magicks. This made for a quite large structure, with a towering gateway through the thorax, and the head serving as a viewport to the seaport below. As one of the most unusual sights in upper Tianshai, this building is used to house many mercenary companies and foreign embassies, and makes a common stop for adventurers of worth. Category:settlements